anxiety relief

Transforming Fear: How to Rewire the Amygdala

by John Nolan
27th March 2025

How to rewire the amygdala involves leveraging the brain’s neuroplasticity through various techniques that promote new, calmer responses to triggers. Individuals can employ self-help strategies such as conscious self-talk, neuroplasticity exercises, “CPR for the Amygdala,” positive mental rehearsal, mindfulness, relaxation techniques, trigger identification, creating positive associations, setting achievable goals, self-havening, and adopting healthy lifestyle habits. For more intense or complex anxiety, or for specific techniques like exposure therapy, Havening applied by a practitioner, EMDR, hypnotherapy, and neurofeedback, seeking guidance from trained mental health professionals is crucial. The key to lasting change lies in consistent practice and a commitment to creating new experiences that teach the amygdala that it is safe.

Leveraging Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) for Anxiety Relief

by John Nolan
23rd March 2025

NLP for anxiety is a set of techniques that aims to help individuals understand and manage their anxiety by exploring and modifying their internal mental processes and behaviours. It operates on the principle that anxiety is a learned response pattern that can be reprogrammed. Several factors contribute to its potential for faster, better, and more lasting results, including its focus on the structure of individual experience, the empowerment it provides, its methods for identifying and reframing triggers, its approach to accessing inner resources, its work with subconscious associations, and its perspective on anxiety as a learned skill. NLP for anxiety can be effectively combined with other approaches such as hypnotherapy, Havening Techniques, mindfulness-based practices, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to enhance therapeutic outcomes. Havening is being used by some NLP practitioners to help process traumatic memories and reduce anxiety through psychosensory touch, often facilitating a relaxed state while maintaining client control.

Achieving Anxiety Freedom: Reclaiming Your Life

by John Nolan
14th March 2025

Anxiety freedom is not about eradicating anxiety entirely but about transforming your relationship with it so that it no longer governs your life. It is the capacity to live a life aligned with your values and pursue your goals despite the presence of anxious feelings. Achieving anxiety freedom is a personal journey that involves understanding the nature of anxiety, accepting anxious experiences rather than resisting them, cultivating present moment awareness through mindfulness, challenging negative thought patterns, and shifting focus towards personally meaningful actions. Intentional exposure to anxiety triggers, practising self-compassion, and letting go of the need to control anxiety are crucial steps in this process. Building resilience through healthy lifestyle choices and seeking supportive connections further empowers individuals on their path to anxiety freedom. Ultimately, anxiety freedom means that while anxiety may still visit, it no longer holds the power to prevent you from living a full and meaningful life.

Sensory Pathways to Healing: The Rise and Integration of Psychosensory Therapy31st March 2025
Psychosensory therapy, with origins in traditional practices and modern neuroscience, is increasingly effective in mental health by directly influencing neurobiological states through sensory input. Techniques like Havening, EFT, and EMDR target the amygdala and can facilitate the processing of trauma and reduce anxiety. These therapies offer rapid, gentle, and empowering approaches for issues such as panic attacks, phobias, PTSD, chronic pain, and addictions. Psychosensory therapy integrates well with future-oriented modalities like SFBT, coaching, and NLP by quickly reducing distress, fostering self-empowerment, and creating a more receptive state for change and goal achievement.
Embracing Experience: Understanding and Moving Beyond Avoidance30th March 2025
Experiential avoidance, the attempt to evade unwanted inner experiences, plays a significant role in various mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, stress, and trauma, leading to restricted lives and intensified distress. Overcoming this pattern involves cultivating awareness, acceptance, willingness, cognitive defusion, present moment contact, value clarification, gradual exposure, and self-compassion, enabling individuals to engage with a full range of experiences and move towards a more fulfilling life.
Steps to Overcoming Dread: Calming Your Mind and Building Resilience with Self-Help Techniques29th March 2025
Feelings of dread often involve activation of the brain's threat system (amygdala) and an overwhelmed cortex, accompanied by negative thinking patterns, anticipation of threat, and negative self-talk. To overcome dread, techniques such as CPR for the Amygdala (combining self-havening and brain games), self-havening alone, challenging negative self-talk, practising mindfulness and acceptance, focusing on solutions, ACT-based defusion, applied relaxation (breathing), cultivating self-compassion, and the LLAMP approach can be effective. These methods work by calming the nervous system, redirecting attention, creating psychological distance from negative thoughts, promoting self-acceptance, and shifting focus towards positive possibilities and values. Consistent practice and patience are key to building resilience and reducing the impact of dread.
Social Anxiety: Exploring Therapeutic Approaches28th March 2025
Social anxiety therapy offers a range of approaches beyond CBT and cognitive restructuring to help individuals manage their social anxiety. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) focuses on future solutions and exceptions to the problem. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emphasises accepting anxious feelings and committing to value-driven actions using techniques like acceptance, mindfulness, and defusion. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) aims to change thought and behaviour patterns through techniques like altering submodalities. Exposure Therapy involves gradual confrontation of feared situations. Social Skills Training focuses on improving social competence through modelling and feedback. Applied Relaxation teaches techniques to manage immediate anxiety symptoms. Mindfulness cultivates present-moment awareness. Compassion Focused Therapy promotes self-compassion. These therapies help by altering the individual's relationship with anxiety, fostering psychological flexibility, and building confidence in social situations. Successful use requires willingness, practice, a gradual approach where needed, and a supportive therapeutic relationship, leading to reduced anxiety, increased confidence, and improved quality of life.
Cultivating Resilience: Building and Maintaining Healthy Habits28th March 2025
Building healthy habits and breaking old ones are crucial for managing mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Creating new healthy habits involves starting small, being specific, linking to existing routines, focusing on positive outcomes, consistent practice, and self-compassion. Breaking old habits requires awareness of triggers, understanding underlying needs, replacement behaviours, and patience. Examples of beneficial healthy habits for mental well-being include mindfulness, exercise, good sleep, healthy eating, journaling, hobbies, time in nature, breathing exercises, self-compassion, social connection, and self-Havening (a form of CPR for the amygdala). Self-Havening can enhance other healthy habits by promoting calmness and emotional regulation. The timeframe for habit change varies, and consistency is more important than a specific duration. To maintain new habits, prioritise them, find accountability, visualise success, focus on progress, reflect on benefits, adapt if needed, and embrace the process.